List of Billboard Best-Selling Popular Record Albums number ones of 1945

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The King Cole Trio had the first number-one album of the chart with their self-titled album, which spent twelve weeks atop.
The King Cole Trio (pictured in 1947) had the first number-one album of the chart with their self-titled album. Furthermore, it was the longest reigning album on the chart with 12 non-consecutive weeks.
Glenn Miller's Orchestra topped the chart for eight weeks with Glenn Miller.
The compilation album Glenn Miller by Glenn Miller's Orchestra (pictured in 1941) topped the charts for a total of eight weeks during the year.
Bing Crosby was the only solo artist with two albums atop the chart.
Bing Crosby (pictured in 1951) was the only solo artist with two albums atop the chart.

Billboard published its first popular albums chart, at the time known as Best-Selling Popular Record Albums, in 1945. The chart was first published in the magazine dated March 24 and included ten positions, "based on reports received from more than 200 dealers" throughout the United States.[1] In the 40 weeks that followed, eight albums by five different artists reached the top.[a]

The first number-one album on the chart was the King Cole Trio's self-titled debut released by Capitol.[2][3] It topped the charts for three weeks until it was replaced by the soundtrack of Song of Norway, an operetta, written by Robert Wright and George Forrest.[4] The soundtrack reached number one for one more week in May. Glenn Miller, a compilation album recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released posthumously by Victor, topped the charts for two weeks in May and later in summer for an additional six weeks. The album was certified gold 23 years after its release by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 or more units.[5]

The second album credited to an original cast to top the chart was Carousel, released by Decca. The musical was composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein and was atop for six consecutive weeks in August and September.[6][7] Bing Crosby was the only artist to have two albums atop the chart: Selections from Going My Way for six weeks and Merry Christmas for four weeks.[8][9][10] The latter album was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1970.[11] The King Cole Trio was the longest reigning album of the year with 12 weeks at number one, followed by Glenn Miller with seven weeks. Albums released by Decca topped the charts for a total of 18 weeks, followed by Capitol at 17 weeks and Victor for 9 weeks.

Chart history[edit]

Issue date Album Artist(s) Ref.
March 24 The King Cole Trio The King Cole Trio [1]
March 31 [12]
April 7 [13]
April 14 Song of Norway Original cast [14]
April 21 The King Cole Trio The King Cole Trio [15]
April 28 [16]
May 5 Song of Norway Original cast [17]
May 12 Glenn Miller Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [18]
May 19[b] [19]
May 19[b] The King Cole Trio The King Cole Trio
May 26 [20]
June 2 [21]
June 9 [22]
June 16 [23]
June 23 [24]
June 30 Glenn Miller Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [25]
July 7 [26]
July 14 [27]
July 21 [28]
July 28 [29]
August 4 The King Cole Trio The King Cole Trio [30]
August 11[b] Glenn Miller Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [31]
August 11[b] Carousel Original cast
August 18 [32]
August 25 [33]
September 1 [34]
September 8 [35]
September 15[b] [36]
September 15[b] Boogie Woogie Freddie Slack
September 22 [37]
September 29 [38]
October 6 [39]
October 13 [40]
October 20 Selections from Going My Way Bing Crosby [41]
October 27 [42]
November 3 [43]
November 10 [44]
November 17 [45]
November 24 [46]
December 1 On the Moon-Beam Vaughn Monroe [47]
December 8 Merry Christmas Bing Crosby [48]
December 15 [49]
December 22 [50]
December 29 [51]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Excluding the casts of Song of Norway and Carousel.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Multiple albums tied for the number one position.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. March 24, 1945. p. 65. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Nat King Cole | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Havers, Richard (March 24, 2017). "Nat King Cole's Album No.1 On The First Ever Billboard Chart". Udiscovermusic. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  4. ^ Henahan, Donal (September 5, 1981). "City Opera: Life of Grieg in 'Song of Norway'". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Glenn Miller & His Orchestra". Recording Industry Association of America. July 2, 1968. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Rodgers & Hammerstein | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Carousel [Original Cast Recording] — Jan Clayton / Jean Darling / John Raitt". AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Bush, John. "Bing Crosby | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "Bing Crosby – Going My Way". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "Bing Crosby – White Christmas". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Gold & Platinum: Bing Crosby". Recording Industry Association of America. November 13, 1970. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  12. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. March 31, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  13. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. April 7, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. April 14, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  15. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. April 21, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  16. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. April 28, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  17. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. May 5, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  18. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. May 12, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  19. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. May 19, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  20. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. May 26, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  21. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. June 2, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. June 9, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  23. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. June 16, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. June 23, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. June 30, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  26. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. July 7, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  27. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. July 14, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  28. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. July 21, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  29. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. July 28, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  30. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. August 4, 1945. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  31. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. August 11, 1945. p. 18. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. August 18, 1945. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  33. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. August 25, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  34. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. September 1, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  35. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. September 8, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  36. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. September 15, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  37. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. September 22, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  38. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. September 29, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  39. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. October 6, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  40. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. October 13, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  41. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. October 20, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  42. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. October 27, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  43. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. November 3, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  44. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. November 10, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  45. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. November 17, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  46. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. November 24, 1945. p. 30. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  47. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 1, 1945. p. 24. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  48. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 8, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  49. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 15, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  50. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 22, 1945. p. 28. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  51. ^ "The Billboard – The world's foremost amusement weekly: Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 29, 1945. p. 26. Retrieved January 8, 2022.